At least four people were killed and dozen others were injured in an accident caused by the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) bus on Monday night, December 29.
The incident took place at 10.05 pm outside Bhandup railway station after the bus driver lost control of the vehicle while taking a U-turn to move to the adjacent bus depot when he accidentally hit the accelerator instead of the brakes. It then hit a roadside pole and then mounted the footpath, mowing down several people standing outside the station premises.
In the footage, captured by a CCTV camera installed at a nearby textile shop, it was witnessed that a group of passengers standing roadside when a BEST bus suddenly reversed and struck passengers standing in a queue, triggering panic among them. They started running in different directions as soon as they realised the bus speeding towards them.
The bus was operating on route no 606 Ring Road route between Nagardas Nagar and Bhandup station.
The bus driver, identified as Santosh Ramesh Sawant (52) has been detained, and an FIR has been registered for negligence and rash driving. The bus involved was a wet-lease electric AC vehicle attached to Vikhroli depot and the driver was hired on a contractual basis.
As per BMC’s Disaster Management Department, here’s the list of victims identified and confirmed by the hospital:
Deceased -
The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, where they are undergoing treatment. One individual, Prashant Dattaram Lad (51), was discharged against medical advice from Rajawadi Hospital.
The injured included are:
MT Agarwal Hospital
Narayan Bhikaji Kamble (59, male)
Mangesh Mukund Dhukhande (45, male)
Jyoti Vishnu Shirke (55, female)
Sion Hospital
Sheetal Prakash Hadve (39, female) – minor injuries
Ramdas Shankar Rupe (59, male) – minor injuries
Fortis Hospital
Pratap Gopal Korpe (60, male)
Hira Mongi Hospital, Mulund (Private)
Ravindra Sevaram Ghadigaonkar (56, male)
Minaz Hospital, Bhandup (Private)
Dinesh Vinayak Sawant (49, male)
Purva Sandip Rasam (12, female)
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced an ex-gratia of 5 lakh each for the families of those killed. In a post on X, he described the incident as “extremely unfortunate”, paid tributes to the deceased, and said he was praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. “The state government will provide financial assistance of 5 lakh to the legal heirs of the deceased,” he said.